Vatican moves on Caravaggio stolen by Mob in 1969

Conference in Palazzo della Cancelleria on Monday

12 Ottobre 2018

Rome, October 12 - The Vatican has called a
conference of exerts to try to find "the world's most wanted
painting", a Nativity by Caravaggio stolen from a Palermo church
allegedly by the Mafia in 1969.
The meeting at Palazzo della Cancelleria on Monday will
"reiterate the opposition to the mafias on the part of the
Church, according to the example of the Blessed Giuseppe
Puglisi", a priest gunned down by Cosa Nostra in Palermo in
1993, the Vatican said.
It aims to "put the Nativity at the centre of international
debate so that the painting can finally be found".
The priceless painting by Caravaggio was first believed to
have been destroyed shortly after it disappeared in 1969.
But investigators now say is actually still intact and could
be hidden somewhere in Eastern Europe.
Police specialised in hunting down stolen art have come
upon traces of the work and are convinced it is still in one
piece, Colonel Fernando Musella of the Carabinieri police
told a press conference.
Investigators travelled recently to an unspecified city
in Eastern Europe in connection with their enquiries, he
added, hinting that there might be a happy ending to the
story in the near future.
The painting is called The Nativity and it was painted
by the Renaissance master in 1609, shortly before his death.
It was stolen from a Palermo church 39 years ago, the day
after it was mentioned in a TV show about 'forgotten' art
treasures.
News that the police were back on the trail came during
the presentation of a new book - The Wall of Glass, by
Giuseppe Quatriglio - which tells the story of the painting
and the mystery of its disappearance.
A few years ago a Mafia turncoat alarmed art lovers by
claiming that Caravaggio's last work was destroyed by the
people who stole it. He said the thieves caused irreparable
damage to the canvas as they tried to roll it up, making it
unsellable even on the black market.
It was assumed by many that the painting had then been
burnt in order to destroy all evidence of the theft.
But it appears that recent investigations have disproved
the claims of the repentant mafioso, establishing that he was
referring to another painting stolen from a Palermo church a
year later.